TORONTO -- The Toronto District School Board has now confirmed that elementary school students will have an opportunity to switch between in-person learning and virtual instruction at various points throughout the school year.

Parents of elementary students at TDSB schools must choose between the two models of instruction prior to the start of the school year, which begins in less than three weeks.

While the school board previously indicated that transitioning between in-class and virtual learning would be challenging logistically, officials now say parents will be able to switch at three points during the school year.

"...for health and safety reasons, and because of the impact switching would have on staffing, physical distancing and space allocation, it will not be possible to immediately transition between the two models," the TDSB indicated on its website.

Those who wish to switch between online learning and in-class instruction can do so as early as one month into the year on Oct. 13, the day after Thanksgiving.

Other opportunities to switch will be offered on Nov. 23 and Feb. 16, the day after the Family Day holiday.

Deadlines to switch, the TDSB says, are September 30, Nov. 6, and Jan. 29, 2021.

The decision comes as schools scramble to finalize plans to bring students back to the classroom for the first time since March, when in-class instruction was shut down provincewide amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Schools in communities identified by public health officials as higher risk for contracting the virus will have junior and senior kindergarten classes capped at 15 and classes for grades 1 to 8 will be capped at 20.

In all other areas, junior and senior kindergarten classes will be capped at 27, grades 1 to 3 classes will be capped at 20, and classes for grade 4 to 8 will be capped at 27.

School board officials, parents, and teachers have all expressed concerns about the ability to physically distance students in the classroom given current class sizes.

While the province has provided $309 million to help school boards hire additional teachers and implement additional health and safety measures, board officials have indicated that it is not enough money to significantly reduce class sizes.

On Wednesday, the federal government announced it would be providing provinces with a combined $2 billion in funding for schools in 2020 and 2021, with more than $760 million earmarked for Ontario.

The province will receive $381 million this year and the second installment of the funding will be provided next year.

The Ford government has said that $70 million of the $381 million will be used to hire additional teachers, $100 million will be allocated to hiring custodians and making HVAC and internet connectivity improvements, and $30 million will be used to help purchase additional personal protective gear.